Consignors having a significant volume of packages for distribution to a plurality of consignees may utilize direct or drop shipping networks associated with a carrier to distribute the packages to the respective consignees. In a direct shipping network, a consignor, carrier, or a third party logistics provider transports a subset of the consignor's packages (e.g., one or more truckloads) via a direct shipment from a shipping origin of the consignor to a hub facility of the carrier. The subset of packages then enter the carrier's general shipping network at the hub and are delivered by the carrier to the respective consignees associated with the packages. A drop shipping network is similar except that the consignor utilizes a third-party freight or logistics company to transport the consignor's packages from the consignor's shipping origin to the carrier's hub. For the sake of convenience, the term “direct shipping network” is used herein to refer to both direct shipping networks and drop shipping networks.
For example, as shown in FIG. 1, a consignor located in Nashville, Tenn. direct ships a truckload of packages to a carrier's hub in San Diego, Calif., and these packages enter the carrier's general shipping network at the San Diego hub for distribution to the consignees, which are, in this example, located in geographical areas defined by three-digit ZIP codes 974 and 977.
However, carriers and consignors do not have a tool for validating whether the hub selected for the direct shipping network is the optimal hub for the direct shipping network for keeping transportation costs and/or transportation times minimized. In addition, a tool is needed that allows carriers and/or consignors to model alternative distribution flows for selecting an alternative hub that may better suit the needs of each consignor.